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1216
A PUBLICATION FOR THE GAY COMMUNITY
, The Story of MCC •
A Simple Message Led
To World Ministry
by Don Leavitt •
The year was 1968. The riot at
Stonewall and the beginning of the Gay
rights movement were still nine months
away. In Los Angeles the Rev. Troy Perry
was struggling to accept his homosexuality
in view, of his strong Christian beliefs. "I
was always told by the church that once I
came out God couldn't possibly love me.
'You can't be Christian and Gay too. They
always told me that."
Five years earlier be had come out,
went through a divorce, and had been
excommunicated from the church he had
pastored. Just several months earlier he
-had slashed his wrists in a suicide attempt.
Arid now a friend was crying on his
shoulder,. convinced that nobody,
including God, cared about him. His
friend knew -God didn't care about him
because his church had told him so. •
At that moment Perry believed he
heard the voice of God. A small voice deep
inside of him said God loved all his
children Gay or straight. The voice told,
Perry to form a church that would convey
that simple message.
On October 6, 1968, a group of twelve
people met in Perry's living room for their
first service. It was the beginning' of the
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches [MCC].
Today, almost 12 years later, MCC has
152 congregations in eight countries with
27,000 churchgoers: Perry is now the
Moderator of the Board of Elders, the
governing body of the church. MCC
emphasizes that it is not a "Gay" church,
but rather a Christian church with a
special outreach to the Gay community.
Tat outreach covers many fields:
• MCC operates an "Institutional
_ Ministries" program to provide
religious services and help for inmates.
Ministers visit Gay prisoners, conduct
worship services in jail, and help with
parole planning, jobs, and housing. A
major obstacle to the program has been
the reluctance of many prison systems
to allow MCC ministers or literature
into the jails because of problems with
homosexuality. The Federal Bureau of
Prisons was sued by MCC and others
for that reason, and recently agreed to
settle out of court. The Institutional
Ministries program publishes several
books for inmates, including the
•
•
•
•
•
"Prisoner's Yellow Pages," a guide to
legal services, organizations, and pro-grams
available in prison. The guide is
available free of charge to all prisoners,
Gay or straight, and is partially funded
by a grant from the Playboy
Foundation.
MCC ,plans to start a religious
television show by 1985. "I want
something in a church setting that
presents our point of view," comments
Perry. With the success of conserva-tive
religious TV shows such as the
"PTL Club," MCC sees no reason
why they can't play the same game.
To better train pastors for the
ministry, MCC has opened its own
school, the Samaritan Theological
Institute. According to the Rev.
Pepper Shields, registrar, the school
currently has twenty students enrolled
in its Los Angeles branch and 400
students in correspondence courses.
Sometime in the future the school
hopes to own a• regular campus and
gain full accreditation.
MCC is rapidly becoming a world-wide
church. The church now has
branches in eight countries, including -
Australia, New Zealand, Nigeria,
Denmark, Canada, and Great Britain.
Groups in other countries have
expressed an interest in forming
churches, and officials hope to see
MCC in Brazil, Argentina, Holland,
France, Spain, Portugal, Poland, and
India in the next few years. MCC
believes a successful foreign church
must incorporate some of the
indigenous culture to succeed. "We
don't believe in exporting American-ism,"
explains Perry.
One of MCC's basic goals is the
elimination of all types of discritnina-tion
within the church. Task forces
have been set up to study the problems
of racism and sexism. Another group is
working on "inclusive language" in
the church so that services refer to all
people, not just men. Washington
MCC paster Rev.. Larry Uhrig
estimates that his congregation is 40%
women and 30 to 40% Black. Perry
estimates that although 30% of MCC's
current ministers . are women, till-number
should increase as 50% of
those who passed this year's ministerial
tests are women. The Board of Elders
consists of three men and four women.
An important part of the church is is
"Christian Social Action" programs,
an effort to become involved with the
community at large. Each church is
encouraged to identify a problem in
their community and then work to
alleviate it. Washington's MCC, for
example, provides free dinners to
homeless women.
MAY 29,
Va. Republican Declares
Gay Rights Support
by Lou Chibbaro, jr.
The Washington,area's Gay Republican
Club is urging Gays and their supporters in
Northern Virginia to vote for a candidate for
Congress competing in the June 10
Republican primary who has pledged to co-sponsor
the Gay rights bill if elected.
The candidate, Martin Perper, a twG term
member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 18th District, would compete
against incumbent Congressman Joseph
Fisher if he defeats his two challengers in the
Republican primary. Fisher has tfius far
declined to become a co-sponsor of H.R.
2074, a bill that would amend existing civil
rights legislation to prohibit discrimination
against Gays in employment, housing and
- federally assisted programs.
Perper, who considers himself a "mod-erate,"
has already come under attack from
conservative and fundamentalist Christian
groups for supporting the Equal -Rights
Amendment and the right to abortion. His
chief opponent in the primary, Frank Wolf,
has received a $1,000 contribution from the
Moral Majority, a fundamentalist Christian
group that stiongly opposes the ERA and
Gay rights, Perper supporters say. Wolf was
defeated by Fisher in 1978.
The third candiate competing in the
primary against Perper is Harold Miller, the
mayor of the City of Falls Church.
Bill Kelsey, president of the Walt
Whitman Republican Club, said Wolf and
Martin Perper
- -
Miller declined to express support for Gay
rights when they were approached by the
club in its candidate assessment process.
"Gays living in the 10th Congressional
district definitely have a chance of electing a
friend of the Gay community," Kelsey said.
Because there is no formal party registration
Continued on page 5
Clinic Makes Changes,
Looks At Lean Budget
by Dave Walter
The resignations of two top personnel and
a worsening financial situation have led the
Whitman-Walker Clinic's board of directors
to cut back the clinic's paid staff and seek
other cost-saving measures.
Administrator Tom Ziebold and assistant
administrator Joe Toussaint have quit.
Additionally, Dr. Winfield Scott resigned as
president of the board of directors, citing
commitments that prevent him from serving
much of the rest of his term. He has been
replaced by first vice president Jaime
Fernandez Scott will remain on the board's
executive committee.
Toussaint could not be reached before
Blade press time, but a board member said
Toussaint resigned to pursue other interests
— not because of any disagreements with
Ziebold or the board.
Ziebold says he decided in January to
leave. "I believe I brought the clinic to the
point that was what I wanted to accomplish. I
had done what I could for the clinic." He
adds, "I didn't want to be an administrator
all my life." He does plan to continue to be
involved with the clinic as a counseling
consultant and volunteer.
Ziebold asserts his resignation had nothing
to do with differences between him and the
board. "I enjoyed a very good relationship
with the board, and had its support."
But he says, "I was a pretty forceful
manager and led things ahead." He was not
as alarmed as the board by the effects of the
recession: "I am more optimistic about the
ability to raise money than the board is. I
always feel you can go out and raise more
money."
Ziebold and board members say, however,
that the differences in fiscal viewpoints
Continued on page 4
gMellDE:
/vows: 7-B1 escapes — this
t;nle 0 Wreath for the
unknown 0 Va. Tech drops
pants 0 Wrap Up
PrefGrences: Summer out
of the ity — Key West
Rehoboth, Fire is;and, P
Town 0 is there a free
munch?
Cornmunny Focus: More
openings 0 Pride passes 0
Why do women go? 0 Close
Up 0 Calendar
Continued on page 21

1216
A PUBLICATION FOR THE GAY COMMUNITY
, The Story of MCC •
A Simple Message Led
To World Ministry
by Don Leavitt •
The year was 1968. The riot at
Stonewall and the beginning of the Gay
rights movement were still nine months
away. In Los Angeles the Rev. Troy Perry
was struggling to accept his homosexuality
in view, of his strong Christian beliefs. "I
was always told by the church that once I
came out God couldn't possibly love me.
'You can't be Christian and Gay too. They
always told me that."
Five years earlier be had come out,
went through a divorce, and had been
excommunicated from the church he had
pastored. Just several months earlier he
-had slashed his wrists in a suicide attempt.
Arid now a friend was crying on his
shoulder,. convinced that nobody,
including God, cared about him. His
friend knew -God didn't care about him
because his church had told him so. •
At that moment Perry believed he
heard the voice of God. A small voice deep
inside of him said God loved all his
children Gay or straight. The voice told,
Perry to form a church that would convey
that simple message.
On October 6, 1968, a group of twelve
people met in Perry's living room for their
first service. It was the beginning' of the
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches [MCC].
Today, almost 12 years later, MCC has
152 congregations in eight countries with
27,000 churchgoers: Perry is now the
Moderator of the Board of Elders, the
governing body of the church. MCC
emphasizes that it is not a "Gay" church,
but rather a Christian church with a
special outreach to the Gay community.
Tat outreach covers many fields:
• MCC operates an "Institutional
_ Ministries" program to provide
religious services and help for inmates.
Ministers visit Gay prisoners, conduct
worship services in jail, and help with
parole planning, jobs, and housing. A
major obstacle to the program has been
the reluctance of many prison systems
to allow MCC ministers or literature
into the jails because of problems with
homosexuality. The Federal Bureau of
Prisons was sued by MCC and others
for that reason, and recently agreed to
settle out of court. The Institutional
Ministries program publishes several
books for inmates, including the
•
•
•
•
•
"Prisoner's Yellow Pages," a guide to
legal services, organizations, and pro-grams
available in prison. The guide is
available free of charge to all prisoners,
Gay or straight, and is partially funded
by a grant from the Playboy
Foundation.
MCC ,plans to start a religious
television show by 1985. "I want
something in a church setting that
presents our point of view," comments
Perry. With the success of conserva-tive
religious TV shows such as the
"PTL Club," MCC sees no reason
why they can't play the same game.
To better train pastors for the
ministry, MCC has opened its own
school, the Samaritan Theological
Institute. According to the Rev.
Pepper Shields, registrar, the school
currently has twenty students enrolled
in its Los Angeles branch and 400
students in correspondence courses.
Sometime in the future the school
hopes to own a• regular campus and
gain full accreditation.
MCC is rapidly becoming a world-wide
church. The church now has
branches in eight countries, including -
Australia, New Zealand, Nigeria,
Denmark, Canada, and Great Britain.
Groups in other countries have
expressed an interest in forming
churches, and officials hope to see
MCC in Brazil, Argentina, Holland,
France, Spain, Portugal, Poland, and
India in the next few years. MCC
believes a successful foreign church
must incorporate some of the
indigenous culture to succeed. "We
don't believe in exporting American-ism,"
explains Perry.
One of MCC's basic goals is the
elimination of all types of discritnina-tion
within the church. Task forces
have been set up to study the problems
of racism and sexism. Another group is
working on "inclusive language" in
the church so that services refer to all
people, not just men. Washington
MCC paster Rev.. Larry Uhrig
estimates that his congregation is 40%
women and 30 to 40% Black. Perry
estimates that although 30% of MCC's
current ministers . are women, till-number
should increase as 50% of
those who passed this year's ministerial
tests are women. The Board of Elders
consists of three men and four women.
An important part of the church is is
"Christian Social Action" programs,
an effort to become involved with the
community at large. Each church is
encouraged to identify a problem in
their community and then work to
alleviate it. Washington's MCC, for
example, provides free dinners to
homeless women.
MAY 29,
Va. Republican Declares
Gay Rights Support
by Lou Chibbaro, jr.
The Washington,area's Gay Republican
Club is urging Gays and their supporters in
Northern Virginia to vote for a candidate for
Congress competing in the June 10
Republican primary who has pledged to co-sponsor
the Gay rights bill if elected.
The candidate, Martin Perper, a twG term
member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 18th District, would compete
against incumbent Congressman Joseph
Fisher if he defeats his two challengers in the
Republican primary. Fisher has tfius far
declined to become a co-sponsor of H.R.
2074, a bill that would amend existing civil
rights legislation to prohibit discrimination
against Gays in employment, housing and
- federally assisted programs.
Perper, who considers himself a "mod-erate,"
has already come under attack from
conservative and fundamentalist Christian
groups for supporting the Equal -Rights
Amendment and the right to abortion. His
chief opponent in the primary, Frank Wolf,
has received a $1,000 contribution from the
Moral Majority, a fundamentalist Christian
group that stiongly opposes the ERA and
Gay rights, Perper supporters say. Wolf was
defeated by Fisher in 1978.
The third candiate competing in the
primary against Perper is Harold Miller, the
mayor of the City of Falls Church.
Bill Kelsey, president of the Walt
Whitman Republican Club, said Wolf and
Martin Perper
- -
Miller declined to express support for Gay
rights when they were approached by the
club in its candidate assessment process.
"Gays living in the 10th Congressional
district definitely have a chance of electing a
friend of the Gay community," Kelsey said.
Because there is no formal party registration
Continued on page 5
Clinic Makes Changes,
Looks At Lean Budget
by Dave Walter
The resignations of two top personnel and
a worsening financial situation have led the
Whitman-Walker Clinic's board of directors
to cut back the clinic's paid staff and seek
other cost-saving measures.
Administrator Tom Ziebold and assistant
administrator Joe Toussaint have quit.
Additionally, Dr. Winfield Scott resigned as
president of the board of directors, citing
commitments that prevent him from serving
much of the rest of his term. He has been
replaced by first vice president Jaime
Fernandez Scott will remain on the board's
executive committee.
Toussaint could not be reached before
Blade press time, but a board member said
Toussaint resigned to pursue other interests
— not because of any disagreements with
Ziebold or the board.
Ziebold says he decided in January to
leave. "I believe I brought the clinic to the
point that was what I wanted to accomplish. I
had done what I could for the clinic." He
adds, "I didn't want to be an administrator
all my life." He does plan to continue to be
involved with the clinic as a counseling
consultant and volunteer.
Ziebold asserts his resignation had nothing
to do with differences between him and the
board. "I enjoyed a very good relationship
with the board, and had its support."
But he says, "I was a pretty forceful
manager and led things ahead." He was not
as alarmed as the board by the effects of the
recession: "I am more optimistic about the
ability to raise money than the board is. I
always feel you can go out and raise more
money."
Ziebold and board members say, however,
that the differences in fiscal viewpoints
Continued on page 4
gMellDE:
/vows: 7-B1 escapes — this
t;nle 0 Wreath for the
unknown 0 Va. Tech drops
pants 0 Wrap Up
PrefGrences: Summer out
of the ity — Key West
Rehoboth, Fire is;and, P
Town 0 is there a free
munch?
Cornmunny Focus: More
openings 0 Pride passes 0
Why do women go? 0 Close
Up 0 Calendar
Continued on page 21